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Alcazzar
Alcazzar is the only habitable planet in the Rhianna system. Moons: 7 Climate Range: Seasonal; winter and summer both move east at 3km/hour continuously but on opposite sides of the planet Diameter: 9,832 km Atmosphere: 75% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, 5% inert elements Length of Year: 10,000 hours GST Length of Day (Summer): 4,000 hours GST Length of Night (Winter): 4,000 hours GST Length of Transition to Winter: 1,000 hours GST Length of Transition to Summer: 1,000 hours GST Gravity: 0.81 Surface Temp: -30 to 40 C Colonization: Unsettled. Discovered 12/21/61 by Cassadine Development Corporation Twilight Moon expedition. The planet's existence and mineral wealth were kept secret. Mining operations began immediately. Climate and Seasonal Changes: Alcazzar's climate and seasonal changes are very unusual because the planet barely rotates as it orbits its star, Rhianna. At any one time, 40% of the planet is in summer, 40% is in winter, 10% is changing from summer to winter, and 10% is changing from winter to summer. The entire summertime is daytime, and the whole winter is nighttime. For approximately 200 GST days if the year each hemisphere is either blessed with eternal daylight and warm, pleasant conditions, or plunged into an equally long night with frigid temperatures and snow reaching depths of several dozen meters. A 100 GST day period occurs between each extreme when each region passes through a twilight transition. The winter area is blanketed by a heavy layer of clouds or blizzards approximately 50% of the time. During transition, the "beltline" region is cloudy 90% of the time, and suffers violent rain or snowstorms 33% of the time. The summer region is 90% sunny, but when clouds drift from a transition zone, violent thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes are possible. Terrain: Only one third of Alcazzar's surface is land, but it's covered with a wide variety of terrain. Mudflats, wet lowlands with little plant or animal life, cover 58% of the land. These areas are most noted for clouds of insects thick enough to make breathing difficult but are otherwise harmless. Several ranges of craggy mountains cut across the land. While not large by most standards - the highest peak is 3,230 meters above sea level - constant glaciation, rock slides, and wind and water erosion have carved them into rugged cliffs and crags. The higher valleys in these ranges are choked with ice fields all year round. The lower reaches are filled with rushing streams of icy water. Mountains cover 12% of the land area. The plains and forests appear strikingly green from orbit. These fertile areas are made up of flowing grassland and towering karakah trees. Glaciers rolled much of these areas flat, but often piled the gravely soil into rolling moraines along the sides of common glacial paths. Native Life: The karakah trees, reaching more than 100 meters in height, are common to all of the planet's forests. The trunks are often 10 meters wide at the base. The tress have long, thick, flexible needles that remain of the branch throughout the year. Thick, porous bark insulates them during the winter. Karakah trees have developed a sap that does not thicken apprecaibely or freeze during the severe cold season. Karakah trees produce a rich fruit in great numbers. These fruit seem to be the base of the herbivorous food chain. The fruit falls thoughout the summer. Many forms of animal life inhabit the planet, but they have not been reaserched so very little is known about them. Many animals migrate, resulting in masses of creatures moving around the planet's surface as the year goes by. All of these creatures travel a complete circle around the planet every year. The mammals live off of stored body fat; the insects lay eggs, then die off to be replaced next summer. Economic Value: Alcazzar contains tremendous amounts of fairly accessible heavy metals, including gold, silver, lead, iron and uranium. These minerals are located in rich veins in mountain bedrock as well as in many riverbeds.